Utilizing Wikipedia in Teacher Education: Student Uses and Perspectives

Abstract

Since its inception, Wikipedia has become a ubiquitous source of information globally. However, its unique authorship and editing structure has been cause for controversy in regards its use as a pedagogical resource. Failure to understand its strengths and shortcomings limits its potential to assist student learning. Recognizing the place of Wikipedia in academic settings may be argued to be particularly important for students majoring in education because as future teachers, their attitudes to information resources will influence their future students. Currently, little is known about how students majoring in education use or view Wikipedia.  Therefore, this quantitative study was designed to generate a profile of Wikipedia use by education majors as well as their perceptions about its value as an educational resource. Analyses of descriptive data (means; frequencies) of 210 completed questionnaires from education majors in a large urban university in the USA indicated widespread uncertainty in the respondents about the reliability of Wikipedia which, in general, limited their use to a few low-level educational functions. Their inability or reluctance to take full advantage of Wikipedia in the classroom may be due to a pervasive indifference or active negative attitudes shown by their professors to Wikipedia as an academic resource.